We are very excited to announce the upcoming release of a new series ‘Talking About Autism’ by Dr. Manuel Casanova. The first book in the series: Down the Rabbit Hole of Historical Controversies explores the hidden side of the history of autism where Casanova fearlessly lifts the veil on the secrets and untold stories that have shaped our understanding of autism today.

Hear from Casanova himself about what this book entails and what makes it such a great read for anyone interested to understand more about autism.

 

Writing a book entails establishing an emotional connection with the reader. It is not about synchronizing the day-to-day mood swings between writer and reader, but about conveying a personal perspective.  If the reader engages with the message, the more likely he/she will take some type of action. Indeed, engaging while reading triggers empathy.  The engaged reader not only understands the message but also the perspective and emotions of the writer.  In this regard, you can consider this book a biased account that reflects my own story about autism. This is a story that I have written as both a physician and researcher, but also as a stakeholder within the autism community.  Many of the points that I raise were based on conversations I had during my lectures, debates, blogs, and even interviews.  Throughout the years given the number of questions reflecting similar doubts I thought that writing this book was something that I needed to do; a narrative that needed to be told but that had over the years been relegated to my bucket list.  Given my age, writing this book reflects a personal priority.  

 

When focusing on controversies regarding autism, I tell the truth as I understand the same and describe events as I have experienced them. Naturally, the stories that I write are those that I understand the best or that have challenged me the most.  Sometimes these stories deal with controversial subjects. Some of the initial chapters describe the unproductive blame game wherein nomenclature and eponyms have taken precedence over proactive changes.  Who takes the credit for describing autism as a medical entity, Kanner or Asperger? The debate only triggers the attack mode in many of the participants.  I hope that by understanding the history behind these arguments we may provide for conflict resolution. 

 

The book also reviews published work reflective of current social movements in the autism community.  These are best seller books reviewed not for literary prowess but for historical and scientific accuracy.  Readers may identify with some of the multifaceted arguments and disagree with others. However, showing the parts that may make some people uncomfortable is part of the debate.  Books for personal growth facilitate conversations when some of the themes under discussion may otherwise be difficult to broach openly in a public setting. 

 

If the reader is engaged and empathic he/she will realize how disappointed I am in psychoanalysis. The history of this medical specialty as related to autism has been an utter failure. Psychoanalysis belongs to the humanities and not to medical sciences.  It lacks empirical methods and has failed to operationalize and prove its hypothesis. Unfortunately for practitioners, they remain stuck on repeating arcane ideologies that have not kept pace with the rest of medicine.  

 

A chapter at the end of the book talks about my personal experience and training at St. Elizabeths Hospital while I was part of the National Institute of Mental Health. The hospital was designed by Thomas Story Kirkbride and was meant to emulate a rural setting enclosed by a wall which separated the hospital from the rest of the city. Thomas Kirkbride stipulated the use of good soil for farming and gardening in supporting mental health recovery. The whole setting reminds me of some autistic communities (e.g., Mas Casadevall) that pioneered nurturing environments as part of the therapy.  I am extremely grateful to all of my mentors that by their example molded me as an academician and clinician. 

 

I have avoided using medical verbiage, and language that is extreme with all or nothing connotations, but I do elaborate on different subjects that are deeply personal to me. Given the importance of some of the subject matter I thought that the occasional singular small vignette would oversimplify the topic and present a limited view of the same. Some subjects are too important to be left alone.  I wanted to underscore some subjects and talk about them from different perspectives.  In this regard, I have included writings from contributors that are active within the autism community and were willing to participate in the debate.  My main intent in this regard was to allow some of the subjects to grow, not to be stuck on a rut. If the reader is interested in partaking in this debate or in acquiring more information, please let me know.